Thursday 4 April 2013 17.15 EDT
First published on Thursday 4 April 2013 17.15 EDT

After spending 2006-2008 in worldwide demand for their exciting string-quartet-meets-jazz-fusion take on the music of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, radio.string.quartet.vienna have put aside the covers for a while. But if any composer's work might be a temptation to a group that uniquely mixes the excitement of rock, the agility of jazz and the textures of classical strings, it's Joe Zawinul's. This tribute to the late Austrian colossus includes an astonishing version of Birdland, in which Asja Valcic's percussive cello brings in the famous bass hook after an expectant hum of pizzicato strumming from the violins and viola. The racing Freezing Fire parades the quartet's rhythm section-like drive, inspired arrangements and ability to creatively mimic Zawinul's talky synth-sounds; Dream Clock reflects a patience with nuance and detail that balances all the virtuosity, and the later stages include a prayerlike In a Silent Way, and a closing Volcano for Hire full of musical mood-swings. There aren't long, jazzy improv breaks, but an appetite for spontaneity fuelled the thinking behind the whole idea.